Flush tank attachment



Dec. 28, 1937; E. .1 GOODMAN ET AL FLUSH TANK ATTACHMENT Filed March 8,1957 I M I a Patented Dec. 28, 1931 2 13 UNITED rates PATENT OFFiCE2,103,580 FLUSH TANK ATTACHMENT Eddie J. Goodman and Jennings W. Bibee,

Lynchburg, Va; i

Application March 8, 1937, Serial No. 129,752

'7 Claims. (01. 4-41) This invention relates to a flush tank attachthetank and thus cause the arm of the float ment and more particularly to adevice adapted valve to be released so that this arm or lever to bemounted in a flush tank and engage the and its float'may move downwardlyas the tank swinging arm of a float valve to secure the'arm is emptiedand cause the inlet valve to be opened 5 and the float carried therebyagainst downward for refilling of the tank.

movement until an arm-engaging member of the The invention isillustrated in the accompanyattachment is moved toa releasing position.ing drawing, wherein Flush tanks as now made include as part of Figure lis a perspective view showing the attheir equipment a rubber ball valvefor the outlet tachment applied to a flush tank of a convenwhich movesupwardly when in an opened positional construction, 10 tion and seatsitself when the tank is emptied. Figure 2.is an enlarged view of theattachment The rubber valve is seated with considerable and showing thesame partially in side elevation force and this causes the valve to beworn so and partially in section, and that a complete closure is noteffected and water 7 Figure 3 isa fragmentary sectional view taken willtrickle through the flush pipe into the bowl. through the attachmentalong the line 3-3 of 15 A great deal of water is wasted in this mannerFigure 2. and in addition many persons find the noise of In Figure l,there has been shown a flush tank the trickling water very annoying. Iof a conventional construction and provided It is, therefore, one objectof the invention to with the usual outlet pipe or flush pipe 2 leadingprovide an attachment which, when mounted in to a bowl 3. The usual feedpipe or inlet pipe 20 a flush tank, will serve to engage the arm orlever 4 has also been provided and, at its inner end of the inlet valveand secure the float controlled which is notshown, the pipe has appliedthereto inlet valve in a closed position. It will thus theusualfloat'valve which includes the arm or be seen that, when the ball valvefor the outlet lever 5 carrying a float 6 at its free end. There becomesworn, water may drain out of the tank, has also been provided the usualball valve 1 for but the float valve for the inlet will be held theflush pipe 2, the stem 8 of which extends closed and waste of waterprevented and also through a guide 9 and is loosely engaged by the theannoying sound of water trickling into the link or grapple ill mountedin the usual manner bowl eliminated. 1 upon the free end of the arm orlever H of the Another object of the invention is to so conreleasemechanism which is of a conventional 30 struct the attachment that itmay be very easily construction and actuated by means of the usualmounted in a. flush tank of a conventional conhandle H2. The mechanismso far described is struction with its latch or keeper disposed in of aconventional construction and, when the position ngag ent by the arm orlever of handle i2 is swung upwardly in either direction the float valveas the arm and the float thereof from a depending position shown inFigure 1, 35 move upwardly during filling of the tank. the valve ball 1will be drawn upwardly out of It is another object of the invention toprovide closing relation to the flush pipe. When the the attachment withmeans for guiding the arm v 1 ball I is drawn upwardly, its buoyancy ole 0 e fl Valve into position m' causes it to rise and as the level ofthe water in i0 ge y the latch keBpeI' during pthe tank approaches thebottom thereof the valve 40 war m v m n and thus insure p op engageballmoves downwardly with the water until it is men of the arm or lever ithe keeper when finally 'reseated in closing relation to the outlet thetank is filledfrom which the flush pipe extends. A severe It is anotherobject-0f the invention to provide blow is imparted to the valve ball asit is seated latch or keeper t Weight which may be in closing relationto the outlet and after the adlusted in order to lmpa'rt prope? balanceto valve ball has been in use for sometime it bethe latch or keep? and ipeimlt the keeger comes worn to such an extentthat a complete to beeasily move into posi ion 0 engage-uh er the arm or lever of the floatvalve as this arm gig g fi g l i gg g z gfizg gigg 325 3 325 movesupwardly. g 50 Another object f the invention is to provide lower thelevel of the water in the tank to such t attachment t meansfor'engagement-by an extent that the float valve of the inlet pipe anactuating member carried by an armor lever 4 will not be rcomplttelyThis Causes of the mechanism for drawing the valve ball up- Waste ofWater and in addition water leaking wardly out of closing relation tothe outlet of f the tank through the p p 2 Into the bowl 55 The taperedend bridging bar and prevented from creates a noise which is manypeople.

The attachment constituting the subjectmatter of this invention servesto retain the float valve closed after the tank has been filled and incase the valve ball 7 has become worn only the water which is in thetank after it has been filled will be wasted. The fact that no waterflows from the tank through the flush pipe 2 when the handle I2 isoperated will clearly indicate that the valve ball needs replacement.

This attachment is adapted to be applied to the tank as an accessoryand, when'in place, it extends transversely of the tank between thefront and rear walls I3 and I4 thereof, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Themain bar or bridge I5 is formed from strong metal which may be brass orany other desired material and has its end portions threaded, as shownat I6 and H. A collar I8 is screwed upon the threaded end portion I6 ofthe rod or bar i5 and a cap I9 is threaded end portion I"! of the bar.The collar I8 carries a set screw 20, by means of which it may besecured in a set position upon the threaded end of the bar and theannular flange 2| of this collar carries screws 22 which are preferablythree in number and have abutting engagement with the inner surface ofthe rear wall I 4 of the tank and frictionally grip the same to preventturning of the bar I5 when the cap I9 is turned to move the apex of itstapered end 23 into engagement with the inner surface of the front wallI3 of the tank. portion'of the cap I9 is solid, as clearly shown inFigure 2, and alined openings 24 are formed through the cylindricalportion of the cap to receive a turning tool. .It will thus be seen thatthe cap may be turned until its apex bites into the front wall of thetank and, if found necessary, a screw driver may be applied to the setscrews 22 to tighten them. The bar I5 will thus be very firmly mountedtransversely in the tank over the lever 5 of the float valve and will beprevented from slipping out of place or turning in the collar and thecap.

A sleeve 25 fits about the bridging bar I5, and upon referring to Figure2, it will be seen that this sleeve is formed from a thick andcylindrical block of brass or other metal formed with a bore 26 tosnugly receive the bar I5. Set screws 21 and 28 are threaded through thesleeve 25 midway the length thereof in opposed relation to each other,the set screw 28 being formed with a lug or tooth 29 at its inner end toengage in the groove 30 formed longitudinally of the bar for the entirelength thereof. By so forming and mounting the sleeve it may be adjustedlongitudinally upon the bar and dispose the depending rod 3! at oppositesides of the lever 5 in equal spaced relation thereto. The lug 28 of theset screw 28 will prevent the sleeve from turning about the bridgingwhen the set screw 2'! is tightened the sleeve will be firmly secured ina set position upon the slipping longitudinally thereof out of a desiredposition.

The lever 5 of the float valve is to be releasably secured in a raisedposition when the tank is very disagreeable to 32 formed from a lengthof metal rod which is also preferably brass. This rod is bentintermediate its length to provide the latch or keeper with a shank 33and an arm 34 extending horizontally from the upper end of the shank.The

lower end of the shank forming portion of the rod is bent back to form abill 35 extending diagonally upwards in diverging relation to the shankand terminating in an inwardly extending and substantially horizontalarm 36 to engage under and support the lever 5. By having the bill 35shank of the latch a cam action may take place between the lever 5 andthe bill 35 as the lever and its float 6 move upwardly and thus causethe latch to be swung about its pivot 3'! to a position in which thelever 5 may move upwardly beyond the bill and the bill then returned toits initial position in which the arm 36 engages under the lever 5 andsupports the same. An abutment screw 38 is carried by the sleeve 25 andprojects laterally therefrom to limit movement of the bill under the armor lever 5 beyond the position shown in Figure 2. The pivot pin 31consists of a screw which is threaded into the sleeve and formed withthe usual head at its outer end which retains the latch or keeper inplace upon the screw. The free end portion of the arm 34 is threaded, asshown at 39, and this threaded portion extends from the major portion ofthe length of this arm in order that the weight 40 may be adjusted alongthe arm to a position in which the bill will be caused to move quicklyunder the lever 5 into supporting engagement with the lever. At the sametime the weight should be so adjusted that upward movement of the leverand engagement of the lever with the diagonally extending bill mayeasily swing the keeper out of the way and permit the lever and itsfloat to move upwardly into position to close the float valve of thefeed pipe. A lug or car 4I extends upwardly from the weight 40 and 18formed with a slot or opening 42 to loosely receive an actuating rod 43.This rod 43 is secured to the actuating arm I I, by means of which thevalve ball 1 is unseated, and from an inspection of Figures 1 and 2, itwill be readily appreciated that, when the arm I I is swung upwardly todraw the valve ball upwardly out of closing relation to the flush pipe2, the latch or keeper will be swung about its pivot 37 and move itsbill out of a position under the lever 5. lever 5 and its float can thenmove downwardly as Water flows out of the tank through the flush pipe.When the handle !2 is released, the weight 40 will cause the latch orkeeper to be returned to the normal position shown in Figure 2, and asthe lever 5 is moved upwardly during filling of the tank, the latch willbe swung out of the Way and then returned to its normal position forenthe flush pipe until the tank is empty. In view of the fact that thefloat valve for the feed pipe will be kept closed, no more water canescape. The fact that water has emptied from the tank will indicate thata new valve ball is necessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An accessory for a flushing device which includes a flush tank, afloat valve, a ball valve for the outlet of the tank and an actuatingarm for the valve ball; said accessory comprising latching means forreleasably holding the float valve closed, and means for moving thelatching means out of engagement with the float valve adapted to beconnected with and actuated by the actuating arm of the ball valve.

2. An accessory for a flushing device which includes a flush tank, aball valve for the outlet of the tank, actuating means for unseating theball valve, and a float valve having an actuating arm and a floatcarried thereby; said accessory comprising a support adapted to bemounted in said tank, a latch carried by said support and movable intoand out of position to engage the arm of the float valve and releasablyretain the float valve closed, and means for moving said latch out ofengagement with the arm of the float valve adapted to be operativelyconnected with the actuating means for the ball valve.

3. An accessory for a flushing device which includes a flush tank, aball valve for its outlet, actuating means for unseating the ball valve,and a float valve for the inlet pipe of the tank including an actuatingarm and a float carried thereby; said accessory constituting means forcontrolling opening of the float valve when the tank is emptied andcomprising a support adapted to be mounted in said tank over said arm, alatch carried by said support and movable into and out of position toengage under the arm of the float valve and releasably hold the arm inan elevated position with the float valve closed, and means adapted tobe carried by the actuating means for the ball valve and move the latchout of engagement with the arm of the float valve when said actuatingmeans is operated to unseat the ball valve.

4. In combination with a flush tank including a ball valve for theoutlet of the tank, actuating means for unseating the ball valve, and afloat valve for the inlet pipe of the tank including an arm and a floatcarried thereby; means for releasably securing thefloat valve closedduring emptying of the tank by leakage through the outlet thereof, saidmeans comprising a support mounted in said tank, a latch pivoted to saidsupport and having a bill for engaging under the arm of the float valvewhen the tank is full, a cam portion being provided for engagement bythe arm of the float valve whereby the latch may be swung about itspivot during upward movement of the arm of the float valve and thenswing into position to engage under the arm, and means carried by theactuating means for the ball valve engaging said latch and moving thelatch out of engagement with the arm of the float valve when the saidactuating means is operated to unseat the ball valve.

5. A float tank attachment comprising a support adapted to be mounted ina float tank and extend over the actuating arm of a float valvetransversely thereof, a latch carried by said support and movable intoand out of position to engage under the arm of the float valve andholdthe float valve closed, and actuating means for said latch adapted to beconnected with actuating mechanism for an outlet valve of a tank andmoved thereby to move the latch out of engagement with the arm of thefloat valve during unseating oi the outlet valve.

6. A flush tank attachment comprising a supporting bar, means to mountsaid bar in a tank over the operating arm of a float valve transverselythereof, a sleeve adjustable along said bar, a latch pivoted to saidsleeve for movement into and out of position to engage under the arm ofthe float valve and maintain the float valve closed, and means formoving said latch out of engagement with the arm of the float valveadapted to be actuated when an outlet valve for the tank is opened.

'7. A flush tank attachment comprising a mounting bar, membersadjustably carried by ends of said bar for engaging walls of a tank andsupporting the bar in the tank transversely thereof over the actuatingarm of a float valve, a

sleeve slidable along said bar, means to secure said sleeve in a setposition upon the bar and prevent turning of the sleeve about the bar,rods depending from said sleeve and spaced from each,

other longitudinally thereof for disposition at opposite sides of thearm of the float valve to guide vertical movement of the arm duringemptying and filling of thetank, a latch pivoted to said sleeve andhaving a bill ior'engaging under the arm of the float valve when thetank is filled and the float valve closed, said bill having a diagonallyextending portion constituting a cam surface engageable by the arm ofthe float valve during upward movement of the arm whereby the bill willbe swung transversely of the arm during upward movement thereof and thenswing into place under the arm in supporting engagement therewith, anarm for said latch extending horizontally, a counter-weight upon the armof the latch adjustable longitudinally thereof, and means for connectingsaid weight with actuating means for an outlet valve of a tank wherebysaid latch will be moved out of engagement with the arm of the floatvalve during opening of the outlet valve.

EDDIE J. GOODMAN. JENNINGS W. BIBEE.

